Esther Jansen

e.jansen@maastrichtuniversity.nl

I focus especially on a treatment study for overweight or obese children. Together with Dr. Sandra Mulkens I wrote the protocol for a parental training called ‘Vinger in de pap’. In the training, which consists of eight sessions, we train parents how to teach their children to eat and exercise in a healthy way. The training is built on principles from behaviour- and cognitive therapy.

In addition to this treatment study, I am interested in research that addresses the influence of parental control on children’s eating behaviour. Parents seem to think that they have to be more restricting when it comes to food, especially when they observe their children becoming heavier. However, scientists suspect that too much restriction could be counterproductive: children might overeat when presented with forbidden foods while their parents are not around. By manipulations in a lab-setting I try to find out whether using restriction can actually lead to adverse effects.


In addition to tutoring diverse courses and supervising students writing their bachelor thesis, I supervise one or two apprentices every academic year. When you are interested in an apprenticeship on childhood obesity or parental control



Jansen, E., Mulkens, S., Emond, Y., & Jansen, A. (2008). From the Garden of Eden to the land of plenty. Restriction of fruit and sweets intake leads to more fruit and sweets consumption in children. Appetite, 51, 570-575. [Download PDF]

Jansen, E., Mulkens, S., Hamers, H., & Jansen, A. (2007). Assessing eating disordered behaviour in overweight children and adolescents: bridging the gap between a self-report questionnaire and a gold standard interview. Netherlands Journal of Psychology, 63, 102-106.[Download PDF]

Jansen, E., Mulkens, S., & Jansen, A. (2007). Do not eat the red food! Prohibition of snacks leads to their relatively higher consumption in children. Appetite, 49, 572-577. [Download PDF]

Nederkoorn, C., Jansen, E., Mulkens, S. & Jansen, A. (2006). Impulsivity predicts treatment outcome in obese children. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 1071-1075. [Download PDF]